Lauren Baron
BRANT NEWS

While not as critically acclaimed as Dark Side of the Moon or The Wall, the Pink Floyd album Wish You Were Here has earned its place in rock ’n’ roll history.

“We all grew up with this record,” said Classic Albums Live founder Craig Martin. “There are many people my age, hovering around 50, who all say the same thing: ‘We used to put this record on to study.’

“It’s not an album like Dark Side of the Moon or The Wall, which really hits you over the head. Wish You Were Here is more like a soundtrack. You put it on and you feel like you’re in a movie.”

Classic Albums Live will take on the rock band’s 1975 conceptual album during its upcoming performance at the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts, taking place on Friday, Nov. 9, at 8 p.m.

“The album is rich with our own imagery and that’s what I’m hoping to capitalize on,” Martin said. “We will go back to a time when we did impart our own imagery on the music.”

Martin promises a “note for note, cut for cut” recreation of Pink Floyd’s ninth studio album that deals with issues of absence, music industry greed and the mental decline of former band member Syd Barrett.

“It’s the greatest music ever made,” Martin said. “Pink Floyd, like Led Zeppelin and The Beatles and The Who, they sold kajillions of records and it’s the most popular music ever made and the greatest music ever made. We want to make sure it maintains that.”

Classic Albums Live is a recital of music, not a tribute, Martin said.

Rather than spending hours on perfecting the look of Pink Floyd, members of Classic Albums Live listen intently to the music in order to create what he says is musical “perfection.”

They use multiple keyboardists, saxophone players, singers, bassists, drummers and guitarists to recreate the album’s studio sound.

“We use the world’s best musicians and it’s not a boast I make gently,” Martin said. “I stand by that 100 per cent. We are the Yo-Yo Ma’s and Pavarotti’s of rock ’n’ roll.”

Tickets to see Classic Albums Live presents Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here cost $38 and can be purchased at the Sanderson Centre box office at 88 Dalhousie St., by phone at 519-758-8090 or online at www.sandersoncentre.ca.